US reportedly seeking new THAAD deployment sites across the country’s west coast, to defend the nation against possible missile launches from North Korea

US defence officials are said to be scouting the country’s west coast for new deployment sites for THAAD units.

The move comes after North Korea reportedly tested a new missile which is capable of striking anywhere in the US mainland.

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers mobile weapon platforms that target incoming missiles in their terminal approach. THAAD rockets have no warhead, relying on sheer kinetic energy instead to destroy an incoming missile before it reaches its intended target. A kinetic impact minimizes the chances of detonating conventional weaponry, and a nuclear warhead will not explode after a kinetic strike.

The US currently has nine THAAD sites in operation across its mainland and offshore locations.